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Ultraman (series)
, more simply and widely known as , is a Japanese Tokusatsu television series that first aired in 1966 and is a follow-up to the television series Ultra Q, though not technically a sequel or spin-off. The show was produced by the Tsuburaya Productions, and was broadcast on Tokyo Broadcasting System (TBS) from July 17, 1966 to April 9, 1967, with a total of 39 episodes (40, counting the pre-premiere special that aired on July 10, 1966). Although Ultraman is the first series to feature an Ultra-Being, it is actually the second show in the Ultra Series; Ultra Q was the first. In fact, Ultraman opens with the Ultra Q logo exploding into the Ultraman logo. Ultraman ultimately became a major pop culture phenomenon in Japan and then in Asia, and the rest of the world. The show's success spawned dozens of sequels, spin-offs, imitators, parodies and remakes. This series is said to take place at some point in the 1990s; this was retconned once Return of Ultraman was released in 1971, placing the events of the series in the year of its production, 1966. Synopsis The first series begins when SSSP member Shin Hayata is flying his plane and a red sphere of light crashes into his Sub VTOL. The sphere turns out to be the transport (Travel Sphere) for a red-and-silver giant being who calls himself Ultraman. Feeling remorse for having killed the human, he merges his essence with Hayata to revive him. In return, Hayata serves as the human form for this being, and whenever danger threatens, and the resources of the Science Patrol are not enough to counter it, he raises and activates a device called the Beta Capsule and transforms to Ultraman to save the day. Production Ultraman s central characters were created by Eiji Tsuburaya from Tsuburaya Productions, a pioneer in special effects who was responsible for bringing Godzilla to life in 1954. The show's predecessor was a series called Ultra Q, a black and white series with 28 episodes very much like the original Outer Limits, although some compare it to today's The X-Files or The Twilight Zone. Scrapped Working Plans * : This story featured a corporeal space creature with two large eyes, who befriended a reporter named Jôji Akita, but the Self Defense Forces, who perceived the alien as a threat, went after them. This was basically the monster version of the British science fiction series ''Doctor Who (1963), and Woo's personality was also to be comical. The name "Woo" ended up being used for an otherwise unrelated, yeti-like monster, in episode 30 of Ultraman. Later, Tsuburaya Productions ultimately produce a series dubbed Bio Planet WoO, in January 2006, but this series is very loosely based on the original concept. * , then retitled : The main characters are a defense force, with the same Japanese name as the Science Patrol, but disguised as an art/photography team. One of the members, little did anyone (even his teammates) know, gained the ability to transform into a giant birdlike humanoid monster called Bemular (not the same Bemular that Ultraman fight in episode 1 of the actual series), who defends Earth from monsters, aliens and other threats. Unlike Woo, Bemular was a tough and righteous fighter, and he looked very similar in design to the title monster of the 1967 kaiju film ''Gappa: The Triphibian Monster. Allegedly, the plot was scrapped when it was worried audiences might have trouble telling that one monster was good and the other evil. * : The title hero of this project slightly resembled Ultraman as he came to be known, but he looked more demonic and had horns. He came to Earth after his planet was destroyed by aliens from Planet X. Both Bemular and Redman were designed by Tohl Narita, who also came up with the final design for Ultraman based on his Redman design, now resembling a less-scary Buck Rogers-style alien being, mixed with a bit of the iconic "Roswell Alien." The characteristic Color Timer, more familiar to American audiences as the "warning light" on Ultraman's chest, was added at the eleventh hour. ''Ultraseven also shared this working title, but it was ultimately dropped, and the title eventually became its own series. Suitmation The Ultraman series used various monster costumes, known as kaiju in Japan, prior to other series such as Kamen Rider and Himitsu Sentai Gorenger. The principals were played by famous monster suit actor Haruo Nakajima, who performed as the original Godzilla. Another Toho actor, Satoshi "Bin" Furuya, was sought out for the role of Ultraman, because of his tall stature and perfect proportions. Nakajima had an outdoor-sports and martial-arts background, and they decided that Ultraman would not seem alien if he was using earth-bound martial arts techniques. So Ultraman's fighting style was a mixture of grappling, Greco-Roman wrestling, and some Japanese martial arts, which evolved during the course of the series. Often costumes of famous monsters like Godzilla (as Jirass in "The Mysterious Dinosaur Base") and Baragon would be recycled and altered, sometimes with nothing more than spray paint and often while the actor was still inside. Nakajima quipped once that the staggering gait of some of the monsters he portrayed was due less to his acting than to the fumes he had to endure. Some of the quadrupedal monster costumes could not be shown fully as his legs dragging on the ground would have been exposed, a necessary allowance to maintain balance in the often cumbersome outfits. Also, the expense of repairing the scale cities and landscapes used for battle scenes required economy of movement and meticulous planning. Characters SSSP/United Nations Scientific Investigation Agency *Shin Hayata *Toshio Muramatsu *Daisuke Arashi *Mitsuhiro Ide *Akiko Fuji *Isamu Hoshino Ultras *Ultraman *Zoffy Kaiju/Seijin *Bemular *Alien Baltan *Neronga *Ragon *Greenmons *Guesra *Antlar *Red King *Chandora *Magular *Suflan *Pigmon *Gabora *Jirass *Gango *Mummy Man *Dodongo *Pestar *Gamakujira *Gavadon A and B *Alien Baltan II *Bullton *Alien Zarab/Imitation Ultraman *Banila *Aboras *Hydra *Kemular *Underground People *Telesdon *Jamila *Gubila *Gigass *Dorako *Red King II *Gomora *Dada *Goldon *Woo *Keronia *Zambolar *Giant Fuji *Alien Baltan III *Kemur Man II *Alien Zarab II *Alien Mefilas *Skydon *Seabozu *Zaragas *Geronimon *Kiyla *Saigo *Alien Zetton *Zetton Cast * : * : * : * : * : * : * : (1-19), (20-39) English Dub *Peter Fernandez *Corrine Orr *Earl Hammond Music :;Opening Theme * **Lyrics: Kyoichi Azuma **Composition: Kunio Miyauchi **Artist: Misuzu Children's Choral Group Malaysia Book Ban Malaysia has banned an Ultraman comic book because it uses the word "Allah" to describe the Japanese action hero. The Home Ministry said in a statement Friday (7/3/2014) that the Malay-edition of "Ultraman, The Ultra Power" contained elements that can undermine public security and societal morals. It said "Ultraman is idolized by many children" and equating the lead character, Ultraman King, with Allah would especially "confuse Muslim children and damage their faith". Allah, the Arabic word for God, is commonly used in the Malay language to refer to God. The government says Allah should be exclusively reserved for Muslims because of concerns its use by others would confuse Muslims and tempt them to convert. Malay Muslims account for about 60 percent of Malaysia's 30 million people, while Christians makeup about 9 percent of the country's population. The ministry said Allah is holy for Muslims and warned that such irresponsible use of the word can provoke the community and threaten public safety. Ultraman is a fictional Japanese superhero who fights monsters and first appeared on television in the 1960s. A line in the book said Ultraman "is considered and respected as Allah, or the Elder, to all Ultra heroes". "The Ultraman character itself is not banned and only this edition is prohibited", the ministry said. Anyone caught distributing the book could be jailed three years, it warned. The government's stand over the word Allah has sparked a controversy in this multi-racial Southeast Asian country, where many Malay-speaking Christians commonly use Allah to refer to God. Religious tensions have been high in the past five years after the Catholic church went to court to seek the right to use Allah in its weekly newspaper. A lower court last year ruled in favor of the government, which the Catholic church has appealed to the country's highest court. The Federal Court said Wednesday it will decide at a later date whether to hear the case. The Ultra Series however is very popular in Malaysia. Home Media In 2006, BCI/Eclipse officially released Ultraman on DVD under license from then rightsholder Chaiyo Productions. These releases featured the original Japanese soundtrack and the English dub. When Navarre folded BCI/Eclipse in December 2008, the series was shuffled over to Navarre's other home video label, Mill Creek Entertainment. In June 2009, Mill Creek re-released the complete series set on September 29, 2009, in a 4-disc set with the same special features. In Japan, there have been numerous releases in numerous home video formats over the last 25 years (from VHS to DVD) on several labels, including Bandai's various home video divisions, including Bandai Visual. On April 2013, Tsuburaya held a press conference announcing the new Ultra Series show and character, Ultraman Ginga, where they also announced that the original 1966 show will be given an HD remaster treatment in Japan. On July 2013, Tsuburaya released an HD transfer of Ultraman on Blu-ray titled Ultraman HD Remaster 2.0, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Tsuburaya Productions. Tsuburaya plans to release the series on three separate box sets, each containing 13 episodes. The first box set was released on July 10, 2013, the second on October 25, 2013 and the final set is planned for January 29, 2014. A Malaysian DVD Boxset was released by VGB Network in 2013, containing Malaysian subtitles and English subtitles. Ultraman Memorial Box features 4 episodes in each DVD, and the last features 3 episodes. Ultraman Blu-Ray Box I features episodes 1-13, Box II features episodes 14-26, and Box III features episodes 27-29. Mill Creek Entertainment also released the series under Blu-Ray and Steelbook editions in 2019, along with Ultra Q. Ultraman_MB_DVD.jpg|Ultraman Memorial Box 41WfbiRdNUL.jpg|Ultraman Blu-Ray Box I 042.jpg|Ultraman Blu-Ray Box II 9390000058275.jpg|Ultraman Blu-Ray Box III 63425_3l.png|Blu-ray release of Ultraman by Mill Creek Ultraman Steelbook Case.png|Steelbook release of Ultraman by Mill Creek Ultraman-complete.jpg|Ultraman The Complete Series UltramanBCI_vol.1.jpg|Ultraman BCI/Eclipse Vol. 1 UltramanBCI_vol2.jpg|Ultraman BCI/Eclipse Vol. 2 UltramanMalayVGBfront.jpg|Ultraman VGB Network Release UltramanMalayVGBBack.jpg|Ultraman VGB Network Back id:Ultraman (seri) ja:ウルトラマン Category:Series Category:Showa Series Category:Ultraman Category:Productions Category:Shows Dubbed in English